Matthias

Chapter 8

**Matt's POV**

I wave as Adam walks down the drive to my old foster home. I look up through the windows to see my oldest foster sister looking down. When she sees that she's caught my eye she grins big and waves. I wave back to her, then duck back into the passenger's seat. I hated that place, but I have a connection with my foster siblings that I can't explain. We helped each other through the worst of it all. They had it worse off than I did, for instance the youngest girl, Rachael, was brought to the courthouse when she was six by her mother who claimed if she had to look at the girl one more day she was just going to kill herself. I can't imagine that kind of pain. At least I never knew my mother and father and wasn't abandoned at an age where I knew exactly what was happening. Even, Sam who'd been separated from five other sisters, still helped me out when I first came to this house. Her pain was mine, times five, yet she helped me. I can never thank any of them enough.

"You miss it here?"

I look over at Devin. "No." I say simply, "I'm glad to be out, but I miss them."

He nods and seems to drop the subject, but then turns back to me. "Ya know, I never fully understood why you lived in a foster home."

I don't say anything. I don't really know what to say to him. He's my best friend, but I've only ever bothered to tell him that my mom and dad couldn't take care of me. I don't want to say anything, but I know I need to. Maybe, one day I'll be able to face my past and explain everything I've lost to him.

Devin drops it, being the great friend that he is, he takes my silence as the answer that it is. That I don't want to talk about it.

I feel something hard and plastic hit the back of my head and then a fit of giggles breaks out from the backseat. Cayden thinks he's pretty funny for throwing the small car at me, and apparently everyone else in the car does, too. Even Devin.

I pick up the Hot Wheels toy and glare at Devin as he laughs at me. He quickly stops laughing and lets out an obviously fake cough to hide it. I stick my tongue out at him and turn around to my sons.

Cayden and Andrew are smiling at me, but Benjamin has a concentrated face as he looks at me. I stare back at him and make a funny thinking face which makes him laugh. Soon, they're all giggling again, and I stick my tongue out at them.

"Meanies!" I whisper playfully.

This time Devin giggles. Or chuckles, because men don't giggle! That's it. He chuckled!

I punch him in the arm. "Hey! No assaulting the driver!"

"I told you they're mean to me! Really mean," I rub the back of my head where the toy hit me to prove my point.

"Hush! They aren't mean! They're kids."

"Mean kids." I say as we pull into our parking lot.

Devin just rolls his eyes at me as he pulls open the back door and begins to unbuckle Cayden from the car seat. I lean into the back seat, unbuckle Andrew, and meet Dev in the middle while we both reach to undo the latch of Ben's seat. When our hands touch, he pulls away quickly. I look up at him confused. He avoids my eyes and picks Cayd up from the seat while I do the same for Ben and Drew.

Devin rushes ahead of me up the stairs. Weirdo!

I assume the boys are tired from their long day at the park with Adam. I had to work today and since Adam was there to watch the boys, Devin had filled in for a sick coworker for some extra cash. The boys, aside from Ben, liked Adam very much. Ben, however, would just look at him the whole time. Never smiling and rarely blinking. I think he kind of scared Adam!